Libertarian Party gains official political party status in Iowa

Going into effect on March 1st, the Libertarian Party of Iowa is officially a political party says Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate.

Gary Johnson, the party's presidential nominee, received 59,186 votes in the November 2016 general election. That number accounted for 3.8 percent of the votes in the election. Which surpasses the Iowa Code that requires two percent threshold to obtain official political party status.

What this means for the party is that they'll be able to participate in the 2018 primary elections and will be included as an option for Iowans on voter registration forms.

“I would like to congratulate the Libertarian Party of Iowa on being recognized as an official political party by the state,” Secretary Pate said. “I encourage all Iowans to become and remain active in the political process.”

The Libertarian party's candidates have to keep receiving at least two percent of total votes in each general election to stay official, otherwise it's cancelled.

The last time a similar instance happened was back in 2000, when the Iowa Green Party nominee Ralph Nader received 29,374 votes which was 2.2% of casted votes.

The current number of voters registered as Libertarian in Iowa is 9,100.